Speed-controlling means for typewriter carriages



SPEED CONTROLLING MEANS FOR T IPEWRITER CARRIAGES Filed April 20, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l April 8, 1930. I E. w. BACHE ET AL ,1

SPEED CONTROLLING MEANS FOR TYPEWRITER CARRIAGES Filed April 20, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fAWzQs? w. 5/70 5 "MAW GR/CE My jfiiwweys Patented Apr. 8, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ERNEST WILLIAM BAGHE AND JOHN GBICE, OF WEST BROMWICI-I, ENGLAND, ASSIGN- OES TO GEORGE SALTER AND COMPANY LIMITED, OF WEST BROMWICH, ENGLAND SPEED-OONTROLLIN G MEANS FOR TYPEWRITER CABRIAGES Application filed April 20, 1928, Serial No. 271,604, and in Great Britain June 21, 1927.

This invention relates to speed-controlling or braking means for usein connection with a tabulating key is depressed so as to allow the carriage to move forwards until arrested by a tabulating stop; but the invention is also applicable for controlling the speed of travel of the carriage otherwise than in conjunction with tabulating mechanism, such as, for in stance, to control the return movement of the carriage. c

The object of the present invention is to provide a simplified but eific-ient form of speed-controlling device for the above purpose.

According to the invention, the speedcontrolling device comprises a toothed or worm wheel driven by the carriage and meshing with a quick-pitched worm or helicallythreaded shaft arranged to be rotated by the said wheel and thereby to offer a resistance to the movement of the carriage. 'When employed in connection with tabulating mecha nism whereby the carriageis released from the escapement so as to move forwarduntil arrested by a tabulating stop, the speed-com trolling device is only operative when the carriage is thus released, being normally disconnected from the carriage but being coupled or clutchedthereto so as to be driven thereby only when the said carriage is released from the escapement. In order to avoid jumping of any part of the mechanism due to the worm continuing to revolve under its own momentum when the carriage comes to rest, the toothed wheel operating the worm may be driven from the said carriage through a one-way clutch device which allows the worm to continue to revolve freely under its momentum after the carriage has been 50 brought to rest, so that thepressure-or force or slidably keyed on the said shaft 5, and en gages a ring of ratchet teeth 10 onthe top exerted due to the revolving of the worm will not cause any associated parts of the machine to jam. The maximum speed of the carriage may be varied by altering the weight of the worm shaft, or by means of adjustableor in- 5 terchangeable vanes on the said shaft.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings is a rear elevation of the speed-controlling device.

Figure 2 is a sectional view on a larger scale to showing the toothed wheel and worm in elevation.

Figure 3 is a vertical section through the worm bracket, with the worm in elevation.

Figure t is a cross-section on line H, 05 Figure 3.

Figure 5 represents a vertical section through the escapement bracket and wormwheel, showing the escapement and clutch mechanism in elevation, the escapement being in its operative condition.

Figure 6 is a section through the said escapement and clutch mechanism with the carriage disconnected from the escapement and clutched to the speed regulator.

Referring to the said drawings; which illustrate the application of the invention in connection with typewriter tabulating-mechanism, the improved speed-controlling device is employed for regulating the forward travel of the carriage when released from the escapement mechanism, before the carriage stop 1 impinges against the tabulating dog or abutment 2. Thus, a horizontal escapement wheel 3 (see Figures 5 and 6) is driven, through the medium of a pawl 4, from a vertical shaft 5 carrying a pinion 6 gearing with a rack 7 on the carriage 8. The said pawl 4 is carried by avertically-sliding sleeve 9 feathered edge of a boss on the escapement wheel. A vertically-movable pillar 11 carrying the tabulating dog 2'is provided with an arm 12 carrying afork 13 engaging a collar 14 on the pawl-sleeve 9, so that when the pillar is raised by the-tabulating key the sleeve 9 is raised against the action of a spring: 15 and the pawl 1 is lifted out of engagement with the ratchet teeth 10, thus releasing the carplate, the pillar i tilted or moved laterally by a spring 11 attached to the pillar and to a fixed part, so that the dog will rest on the top of the plate 39 when the key is released.

According to the present invention, the sliding sleeve 9 carries at its upper end a second pawl 16 adapted to co-operate with ratchet teeth 17 on the lower end of the boss or sleeve of a bevel-wheel 18 which is loose upon the shaft 5. l/Vhen the lower pawl a is in engagement with the escapement' wheel 3 the said upper pawl 16 is out of engagement with the ratchet 17, as shown in Figure 5, but when the sleeve 9 is raised by the tabulating dog-pillar 11 so that the pawl 4c is' disconnected from the escapement, as in Figure 6, the carriage is free to move forward under the action of its spring, and the upper pawl 16 engages the ratchet 17, so that the bevel-wheel 18 is rotated by the travel of the carriage until the latter is arrested by the tabulating dog 2.

The bevel-wheel 18 meshes with another bevel-wheel 19 on a horizontal shaft 20 supported in bearings in a bracket or frame 21 attached to the escapement frame. On this horizontal shaft 20 is a toothed or worm wheel 22 engaging a light quick-pitched screw or worm 23 on a vertical shaft 24 mounted to rotate within bearing lugs 25, 26, on the bracket 21, the arrangement being such that when the horizontal shaft 20 is rotated by the motion of the carriage the toothed wheel 22 causes the worm to revolve at a rapid rate. The rotation of the worm, however, offers a resistance to the rotation of the toothed wheel, and thus controls the speed of the carriage. Conveniently the bracket supporting the worm shaft consists of a vertical plate 21 carrying the forwardly-bent lugs 25, 26, having bearing apertures for the Worm-shaft 23. The said plate 21 has slots 27, 27, at opposite sides to receive screws 28, 28, by which it canbe adjustably supported upon horizontal posts 34: carried by the back plate 29 of the frame carrying the escapement wheel 8 and shaft 5. Secured to the front of the plate 21 by screws 30, 30, is a forwardlycranked plate 31 having an aperture supporting the outer end of the shaft 20 and carrying a rearwardly-extending lug 32 overlapping the upper bearing lug 25 for the worm-shaft and fitted with a steel insert 35 to form a stop or abutment for'th'e upper end ofthe latter.

The lower bearing lug 26 is gapped laterally at 33 as shown in Figure 4: so as to leave the worm free to adjust itself with respect to 2 the worm-wheel.

To increase the resistance to rotation of the worm 28, the lower end of the worm-shaft 24 carries a horizontal disc or plate 36 provided with radially-disposed vanes 37 which may be bent up from lugs on the said disc.

The air resistance offered by these vanes 37 assists to control the speedof travel. of the When the carriage stop 1 strikes the dog 2 the pillar 11 is moved laterally to take the dog over the aperture in the plate 39, when the pillar and dog are lowered by the spring 41, the arm 12 thus lowering the clutch sleeve 9 so as to cause the carriage to' be re-connected to the escapement by the pawl 4 and the shaft5 to be disconnected'from the worm shaft 24.

Owing to the presence of the pawl and ratchet 16, 17, when the carriage and shaft 5- come to rest, the worm 23 and its driving wheel 22 are free to continue to revolve under their momentum, and therefore the force or pressure exerted by such rotation cannot cause jamming of any parts.

If desired, the speed-controlling device may be geared or connected to the carriage so as to control the ordinary return movement of the said carriage irrespective of whether tabulating' mechanism is employed.

Having fully described our invention, what we desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a spring-driven paper-carriage,

of a vertical shaft geared to thesaid paper-,

carriage, an escapement wheel, a sleeve slidably keyed to'the shaft, a clutch member on the sleeve adapted to connect thepaper-car riage to the escapement wheel when the sleeve is lowered, a second clutch member on the sleeve, a gear-wheel loose on the said shaft but adapted to be connected thereto by the second clutchmember only when the sleeve is raised to disconnect the paper-carriage from the escapement wheel, a worm-wheel in driven connection with the said gear-wheel on the shaft, and a speed-controlling wormed shaft meshing with and adapted to be rotated by the said worm-wheel.

2. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a spring-driven paper-carriage, of a vertical shaft geared to the said papercarriage, an escapement wheel, a clutchsleeve slidably keyed on said shaft, a clutch member on the sleeve adapted normally to connect the paper-carriage to the escapement wheel when the sleeve is lowered, a tabulating stop on the paper-carriage, a tabulating key, a vertically-movable member carrying I a tabulating dog, means whereby the depression of the 'tabulating key causes the said member to be raised to elevate the tabulating dog into the path of the stop on the papercarriage, an arm on the said vertically-movable member operatively connected to the clutch sleeve so as to raise the latter when the dog is raised and thus disconnect the paper-carriage from the escapement wheel, a worm-wheel, means whereby the said wormwheel is driven from the vertical shaft when the carriage is disconnected from the escapement wheel and travels forward under the influence of its spring, a helically-threaded speed-controlling shaft meshing with and rotated by the said worm-wheel, and means whereby the vertically-movable member carrying the tabulating dog is lowered when the said dog is engaged by the stop on the papercarriage, the arm on the said member then lowering the clutch sleeve so as to cause the paper-carriage to be re-connected to the escapement wheel.

3. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a spring-driven paper-carriage, of a vertical shaft geared to the said paper-carriage, an escapement wheel, a sleeve slidably keyed to the shaft, a clutch member on the sleeve adapted to connect the paper-carriage to the escapement wheel when the sleeve is lowered, a second clutch member on the sleeve, a gear-wheel loose on the said shaft but adapted to be connected thereto by the second clutch member only when the sleeve is raised to disconnect the paper-carriage from the escapement wheel, a worm-wheel in driven connection with the said gear-wheel on the shaft, and a speed-controlling wormed shaft meshing with and adapted to be rotated by the said worm-wheel, the said wormed shaft carrying vanes. V

4:. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a spring-driven paper-carriage, of a vertical shaft geared to the said papercarriage, an escapement wheel, a clutchsleeve slidably keyed on said shaft, a clutch member on the sleeve adapted normally to connect the paper-carriage to the escapement wheel when the sleeve is lowered, a tabulating stop on the paper-carriage, a tabulating key, a vertically-movable member carrying a tabulating dog, means whereby the depression of the tabulating key causes the said member to be raised to elevate the tabulating dog into the path of the stop on the papercarriage, an arm on the said vertically-movable member operatively connected to the clutch sleeve so as to raise the latter when the dog is raised and thus disconnect the paper-carriage, the arm on the said member then lowering the clutch sleeve so as to cause the paper-carriage to be re-connected tothe escapement wheel.

In testimony whereof we have affixed our signatures.

ERNEST WILLIAM BAOHE. JOHN GRICE. 

